Centrifugal compressor



Dec. 29, 1936. c. R. WASEIGE CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR Filed Jan. 23, 1934 Fig.

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e w WM s 6 v, a m M 00 m W m@ n w fiwm A f mm P b n 0 Patented Dec. 29, 1936 CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR Charles Raymond Waseige, Rueil-Malmaison,

France, assignor to Eclipse Aviation Corporation, East Orange, N.

Jersey J., a corporation of New Application January 23, 1934, Serial No. 707,952 In France January 26, 1933 2 Claims.

The invention relates to centrifugal compressors and more particularly to a centrifugal compressor capable of providing a series of different stages of compression.

Compressorshave already been built in which the rotor can be operated at varying speeds according to the altitude at which the compressor is utilized, but this solution has not been found v satisfactory because of the fact that there exists an impeller speed at which point the efliciency of the compressor is a maximum and above and below which the efiiciency drops rather quickly away. These last mentioned compressors, furthermore, present constructional difficulties expensively and laboriously overcome. Multiple stage compressors have been tried, but up to the present they -have proven unsatisfactory because of the fact that it is necessary to rotate" the impellers of the compressor at too. great a speed in the neighbourhood of the ground, as a consequence of which there results inordinately great waste of power and excessive heating of the air destined for the motor.

The present invention has for object to provide a centrifugal compressor wherein the hereinabove set forth disadvantages of prior constructions areeliminated.

A further object of the invention is to provide a centrifugal compressor permitting compression in several stages while maintaining the maximum emciency of operation.

Another object is to provide a compressor having a plurality of independent impellers that are adapted to enter into operation successively.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a compressor wherein the number of impellers in operation in the interconnection of the ,impeller chambers may be altered at will.

Another object of the invention is to provide a compressor of a character which lends itself to ready control by manual or automatic means.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the succeeding description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l'is a longitudinal section of a centrifugal compressor according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary section of another method of control of the two impellers of the compressor.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic showing of one manner of connecting the air valve control with the impeller control.

Referring to the construction shown in Fig. 1, 55 the compressor comprises twoimpellers, I and 2, mounted in two; chambers 3 and 4, disposed one after the other in front -of a casing 5 in which is housed the mechanism by which the impellers are rotated, the casing being mounted on a housing 6 by any means found practicable or suitable.

The impeller 2 draws ambient air through an opening I and compresses it into the delivery chamber 8 to which is communicated the aspiration conduit 9 of the impeller I. The latter im- 10 peller further compresses the fluid drawn from the delivery chamber 8 and delivers it to a motor to be supercharged through the exhaust conduit II.

When the impeller I is operated alone, for the purpose of avoiding the aspiration of air through the impeller 2, an opening I2 is provided in the chamber 4 and equipped with a valve I3 permitting the conduit 9 to be directly connected with the inlet 1. The valve I3 may be operated by any suitable means, as for example by lever I4 oscillating about Ma. and attached to any appropriate automatic or manual device by which it may be controlled. This device may be combined with the actuating mechanism of the z impeller 2 in such a fashion that valve I3 is opened when the impeller 2 is disengaged from operation and closed when the impeller 2 is rotated, as will be more clearly set forth hereinafter.

The mechanism by which the impellers I and 2 are actuated may be selected according as desired, but should embody a mechanism by which the impeller 2 can be thrown into operation or disengaged from operation, at will. 7

In the example represented Fig. 1, the impeller 2 is splined on a shaft I5, the latter mounted in the chamber 4, its extremity I6 turning in a bearing I! carried by the chamber 5. The impeller I is splined on a sleeve I8 mounted on bushings I9 and 20 on the shaft I5. The sleeve I8 and the shaft I5 carry, splined thereon, pinions 2| and 22 respectively, engaging respectively with crowns 23 and 24. These crowns 23 and 24 represent parts of centrifugal clutches of a type which will be more fully set forth hereinafter. These clutches are motivated by the 7 crankshaft through the intermediary of gear 26 and pinions 21 and 28'. The functioning of the device is as follows:

The impeller I which effects the compression on the ground, is constantly rotated by one or several of the clutches hereinafter to be described and when it is desired to provide a degree of compression more elevated, the impeller 2 is '5 disc 32.

I of centrifugal force increases with an increase thrown into operation, thus providing a compressor having two stages.

- Referring to Fig. 2 representing the means by which the impellers are actuated, there is shown more in detail the centrifugal clutches designed to absorb the angular vibrations of the motor as well as the declutching mechanism for the impeller 2 which is not represented on Fig. 1. According to this mode of execution, a shaft 29 disposed parallel to the longitudinal axis Z--Z carries a pinion 21 designed to mesh with thegear 26 (see Fig. 1). This shaft 29 is mounted in the ball bearings 30 and 3| which are in turn supported by the housings 5 and 3 and carries, splined thereon, the clutch discs 32 and 33. Two plates 36 and 3! provided with friction material 34 and 35 are adapted to be pressed against the The plate 31 is integral at its periphery 38 with another plate 39 which is fixed for rotation to the plate 36 by the intermediary of pins 48 carried by the plate 36 and emerging from the plate 39 through the opening 4i. and 39 are loosely mounted on bushings 42 along which they are permitted a certain limited longitudinal movement. On the plates 39 centrifugal weights 44 are mounted in such a fashion as to be able to oscillate about the axis 43. A spring 45 urges each weight 44 against one of the pins 40 thus providing sufficient friction between the disc 32 and the plates 36 and 31 to ensure their operation by the shaft 29. 1 i

The pressure of the weights 44 under the action in speed of rotation and consequently increases the pressure with which the disc 32 is gripped by plates 36 and 31. The plate 39 carries at its periphery the crown 23 gearing with a pinion 2| splined on the sleeve N3 of the impeller l-. The disc 33 in a similar manner drives the attached plates 46 and 41, the plate 46 carrying the crown 24 which meshes with a pinion 2'2 splined on,the

- shaft I5 of the impeller 2. The mechanism is completed by a device permitting the weights '48 to be withdrawn from contact with pins, in spite of the action o'fthe springs 49 and the centrifugal force tending to cause the said weights to pivot in the direction indicated by the arrow F.

This device comprises an abutment 50 mounted on ball bearings on a guide element 5| fixed coaxially with respect to the axis XX, the abutment adapted to butt against the weight 48 when moved in the direction of the arrow I, thus effecting a withdrawal of the weights 48 from the pins 46. A lever 53 mounted for oscillation at 54 and operated by a control 55 governs the longitudinal movement of the element 50 and its engagement and disengagement from the weight 48.

Between lever 53 and the lever l4 (Fig. 1) which operates the valve l3 there may be provided a mechanical connection such as is shown in Fig. 3

The plates 31 wherein the valve [3 will be opened when the abutment 50 is displaced towards the right to withdraw the weights 48 from the pins 46' and thus disengage the clutch 46. It is obvious that for each impeller there may be provided one or several speeds, secured through an operation of centrifugal clutches distributed about the pinion 2| or 22 and controlled for divers speeds, the object being to maintain a constant pressure in the engine cylinders at all altitudes said object being effected with the maximum efficiency of operation and the minimum unnecessary heating of the air. It is obvious that the device may embody three or more independent impellers of which several may comprise a throw out mechanism operable at will and similar to that hereinabove set forth.

The procedure of putting the impellers into operation may be automatically effected, for instance, by an aneroid device which assures at a certain altitude the placing in operation of a succeeding impeller and the closing of a valve corresponding to l3. The automatic device will obviously effect the opposite operation as the ambient pressure decreases, thus effecting an interruption of the operation of the said impeller'an'd the opening of the valve correspondingto l3.

interconnectable impeller chambers having impellers therein, a valve for connecting said chambers, separate means for rotating each impeller ,and manually operable means simultaneously controlling the impeller rotating means and the chamber connecting valve. V

2. In a compressor unit for an engine the combination' of a pair ofcompressor chambers, a driving shaft, a rotor in each chamber, a hollow shaft for driving one rotor, a second shaft within the hollow shaft for driving the second rotor, a conduit interconnecting the outlet of one chamber with the inlet of the other chamber, a manually operable valve in said conduit for connecting the same with the atmosphere, means for operably connecting one rotor shaft to the driving shaft, a manually operable clutch for operably connecting the other'rotor shaft to the driving shaft, and

CHARLES RAYMOND: WASEIGE. 

